Middle East

US imposes sanctions, visa bans on Saudis for journalist Khashoggi's killing

The Biden administration announced sanctions and visa bans on Friday targeting Saudi Arabian citizens over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but stopped short of imposing sanctions on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself.
Satellite images show secretive Israel nuclear facility undergoing major construction

A secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation’s undeclared atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in decades, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.
US seeks to extend, strengthen nuclear pact with Iran, Blinken says

The United States will seek to strengthen and extend the agreement between world powers and Iran aimed at curbing its nuclear programme, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Lebanese court removes investigator who charged politicians over Beirut blast

A Lebanese court today dismissed a judge who had charged top politicians with negligence over last year’s Beirut port explosion, infuriating families of victims who said it showed that the state would never hold powerful men to account.
‘Saudi govt will take measures to ensure Bangladeshi workers stuck due to Covid-19 can return’

Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Issa bin Youssef Al-Duhailan today assured that his government will take immediate measures so that Bangladeshi workers stuck in the country due to Covid-19 and workers with new visas can return to the Middle East country.
At least 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 could die of starvation this year: UN agencies

At least 400,000 Yemeni children under five could die of starvation this year without urgent intervention amid soaring rates of severe malnutrition driven by war and the coronavirus pandemic, four UN agencies said today.
6 Bangladeshi migrant workers killed in Saudi Arabia factory fire

At least six Bangladeshis have been killed in a factory fire in Saudi Arabian city of Madina on Wednesday night.
Palestinians open election registration offices in West Bank and Gaza

Palestinians opened election registration offices in Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday, one day after rival factions agreed steps to ensure that the first elections in 15 years go ahead.
Yemen’s Houthis say they carried out drone attack on Saudi airport

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it carried out a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport which the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen said caused a fire in a civilian aircraft.
Egypt opens Rafah crossing with Gaza until further notice: sources

Egypt on Tuesday opened its Rafah border crossing with the Gaza strip until further notice, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said, a move described as an incentive for reconciliation between the main Palestinian factions, meeting in Cairo.
UN envoy Griffiths in Iran for first time to discuss Yemen crisis

The United Nations special envoy on Yemen is visiting Iran for the first time to discuss Yemen’s crisis, Iranian state TV reported, days after Washington announced an end to its support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.
UN envoy Griffiths in Iran for first time to discuss Yemen crisis: TV

The United Nations special envoy on Yemen is visiting Iran for the first time to discuss Yemen’s crisis, Iranian state TV reported on Sunday, days after Washington announced an end to its support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen
Egypt frees Al Jazeera journalist after four years in detention

Egyptian authorities on Saturday released a journalist working for Qatar’s Al Jazeera television network who was held in pre-trial detention for more than four years, his brother and a lawyer told Reuters.
ICC ruling brings hope for Palestinians, dismay for Israelis

Many Palestinians see a ruling by the International Criminal Court that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a belated chance of justice for victims of Israeli attacks.
Iran top diplomat urges Biden to return to nuclear deal

Iran’s foreign minister urged Washington to act fast to return to the nuclear accord, pointing out that legislation passed by parliament forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if US sanctions are not eased by Febuary 21.
Biden ends US support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen, says war 'has to end'

President Joe Biden yesterday declared a halt to US support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen, demanding that the more than six-year war, widely seen as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, “has to end.”
Iran says US, not Tehran, should act first to resolve nuclear deal row

The United States should act first by returning to world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that it ditched in 2018, the Iranian foreign minister tweeted after Washington demanded Tehran reverse its breaches of the pact first.
US assures UN of its support for two-state solution in Middle East

US President Joe Biden’s administration supports a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and will overturn several Trump administration decisions, the acting US envoy to the United Nations assured the Security Council yesterday.
UAE cabinet approves setting up embassy in Tel Aviv

The United Arab Emirates cabinet has approved the establishment of an embassy in Tel Aviv in Israel, state media said, and Israel announced its embassy had opened in Abu Dhabi.
Kuwait’s emir reappoints PM to form new cabinet after parliament standoff

Kuwait’s emir has reappointed Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah as prime minister after the cabinet resigned in a standoff with parliament over its vote to question the premier on issues including his choice of ministers.
First big suicide attack in Baghdad for three years kills at least 32

Two men blew themselves up in a crowded Baghdad market today, killing at least 32 people in Iraq’s first big suicide bombing for three years, authorities said, describing it as a possible sign of the reactivation of Islamic State.
Beirut blast chemicals possibly linked to Syrian businessmen: report, company filings

The company that bought the ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut last August had possible links to two Syrian businessmen under U.S. sanctions for ties to President Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by a Lebanese journalist and London company filings.
Yemenis fear cuts to imports, remittances after US blacklists Houthis

Yemenis fear a U.S. decision to blacklist the Houthi movement could further isolate them from the global financial system, depriving the war-battered country of vital remittances and hampering the flow of imports.
Kuwait government resigns en masse in challenge for new emir

Kuwaiti ministers handed in their resignations to the prime minister today, the government communications office (CGC) said, days after lawmakers submitted a motion asking to question the premier over issues including the makeup of the cabinet.
Iran will expel UN nuclear inspectors unless sanctions are lifted: lawmaker

Iran will expel United Nations nuclear watchdog inspectors unless sanctions are lifted by a Feb. 21 deadline set by the hardline-dominated parliament, a lawmaker said today.
Abiron’s death in KSA: Family refuses settlement, demands justice

A Saudi court has rejected the bail petitions of three accused arrested in a case filed for the murder of a Bangladeshi domestic worker in Saudi Arabia two years ago.
From embargo to embrace, Saudi Arabia pushes Gulf solidarity

Embracing Qatar’s ruler, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince pushed a deal to end a bitter row with Doha at a Gulf Arab summit to try to shore up an anti-Iran front, although a final declaration contained only a general pledge of solidarity.
Saudi Arabia to open airspace, borders to Qatar

Saudi Arabia will reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar, US and Kuwaiti officials said Monday, a major step towards ending a diplomatic rift that has seen Riyadh lead an alliance isolating Doha.
Breakthrough reached in Gulf dispute with Qatar: senior Trump administration official

A breakthrough has been reached in Qatar’s three-year-old dispute with Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries and an agreement to end their rift is to be signed in Saudi Arabia, a senior Trump administration official said.
Israel dismisses ‘nonsense’ Iran charge it seeks to trick US into war

An Israeli official has dismissed as “nonsense” an allegation by the Iranian foreign minister that Israel was trying to trick the United States into waging war on Iran.